Three Ossetians were released on March 29 and two more Ossetians and one Georgian were freed today in the goodwill gesture by Georgian authorities.

Two of them -- Taimuraz Amzoev and Zaurbek Khestanov -- are Russian citizens from North Ossetia. The other four -- Vadim Tadtayev, Khatuna Charayeva, Gennady Pliyev, and Goleri Toroshelidze (an ethnic Georgian) -- are permanent residents of Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

Officials in Tbilisi say no other Ossetians arrested since the Russian-Georgian war in August 2008 remain in Georgian prisons.

It is not clear whether the de facto authorities in South Ossetia plan to reciprocate by releasing jailed Georgians.